Washington Wins First National Title

Washington Wins First National Title
by Victor Olorunfemi
December 16, 2025

In an instant classic of a final that brought out the largest crowd for an NCAA final in 21 years, Harrison Bertos struck two minutes into overtime to hand Washington its first championship in program history. It was a heartbreaking conclusion for an NC State team that fought valiantly to overcome a 0-2 deficit, scoring late to send the game to golden goal.

After both teams traded half-chances through the opening minutes, the first quality chance fell to Washington in the 44th minute as Zach Ramsey delivered a clever chip to capitalize on a blocked clearance from NC State keeper Logan Erb.

With a halftime lead, Washington adopted a more cautious approach, focusing on counterattacks. This strategy paid off in the 62nd minute when Connor Lofy won possession at midfield, passed to Richie Aman, who beat his defender and crossed for Joe Dale to score.

But before the dust could settle, spurred on by thousands in the stands, the Wolfpack struck back through an acrobatic Donavan Phillip finish, giving the junior forward his NCAA-leading 19th goal of the campaign.

From that point, it was all hands on deck for Washington, who repelled cross after cross to maintain a narrow lead. That all came crashing down in the 87th minute as a well-worked passing sequence from the right wing set up Taig Healy to curl home a well-placed equalizer.

The match proceeded to overtime, where, after 114 seconds, junior center back Bertos scored the decisive golden goal in a packed penalty area.

Upon learning who scored the goal, head coach Jamie Clark delivered an all-time quote that the team had repeated all season. “We live by the Bertos, we die by the Bertos.” 

That was likely in reference to the combative center-back’s front-footed and hard-tackling playing style that often drew the ire of the opposition, but was crucial to the team as a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

An emotional Bertos expressed his gratitude to the staff for their patience with him during his early years. "I came as an immature freshman not knowing what I was getting into . . . I can’t be more grateful for Jamie [Clark] and all the Assistant coaches.”

NC State and second-year head coach Marc Hubbard will return as one of the favorites next season. The victory ends a thrilling journey where the Huskies played all six NCAA tournament games on the road to win their first title.

Related Topics: Atlantic Coast, Big Ten
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